Maintaining Your Status as a Great Recruiter: What You Should Read

Recruiting changes faster than any other HR function. Some of the factors that keep recruiters on their toes include a constantly changing economy, the increasing globalization of talent search, and rapid changes in technology. The net result of all of these changes is that no matter how good a recruiter you are today, whatever knowledge you currently possess about recruiting, it will all soon be out of date. In fact, I estimate the shelf life of recruiting knowledge has shrunk to less than two years. As a result of this trend, it is essential that recruiters be well read in their field. Fortunately for recruiters, there is a wealth of top-quality information on new recruiting tools and trends available for free, through email newsletters. Unfortunately, as a result of their high workload, few recruiters have allocated much time toward improving themselves through reading about new approaches and tools. To help you keep updated, I’ve compiled a list of the best e-newsletters in the recruiting field. I have put them in descending order, based on my personal experience and my unique needs. However, since they are free, you could subscribe to them all and then drop the ones that add little value, based on your own needs. Whichever of these newsletters you decide you subscribe to, I advise you to scan liberally through each issue in order to get the most value. I find it’s much better to scan five newsletters than to read one completely from cover to cover. Note: My apologies in advance for any broken web links, outdated descriptions, discontinued newsletters or omissions. If you know of a great newsletter that I don’t subscribe to, feel free to send me a copy at [email protected]Electronic Newsletters On Recruiting, Email If you spend a lot of time out of the office or if you get frustrated by waiting for websites to download, you will prefer this category of e-newsletters. As a general rule, each one listed in this section includes the entire article in the email that you receive.

    • ER Daily. If you can read only one electronic newsletter about recruiting, this would be it. It’s been around forever and it gets better every year. Rather than quick stories, it instead focuses on in-depth “how to” and strategy articles. This one attracts the best writers in the industry. David Manaster and Jim Dalton produce a can’t miss read…every day. Incidentally, you can catch my articles every Monday morning.

 

  • RecruitNews. Produced by the top-notch people at AIRS, RecruitNews lots of headlines as well as data and surveys related to recruiting and diversity.
  • Electronic Recruiting News. This one is a classic from John Sumser, a high frequency newsletter with opinions as well as numerous links to white papers and other articles. It has eclectic features like recommended books to read.
  • Staffing.org Update. Nick Burkholder’s team puts out top-notch information related to recruiting metrics. Great book lists and links.
  • The Recruiting News. From the recruiter’s network, this is a useful newsletter focusing on Internet recruiting. It includes headlines and some in-depth articles.
  • CareerXroads Update. Articles, survey results, and information on the latest trends in websites from Gerry Crispin and Mark Mehler, the guru’s of corporate websites and the authors of the famous book by the same name (CareerXroads).
  • “Art of the Search” Newsletter. Great practical advice by the Ramer firm. It’s also easy to scan.
  • Weddle’s Newsletter. Peter Weddle keeps you informed with high-level think pieces and information on websites and his latest books.
  • RecruitingNewsWire. Current news from the leaders in recruiting information, Kennedy Information.
  • Workforce Recruiting. Recruiting strategies and tips from the publishers of Workforce magazine.
  • Recruiters Aid Newsletter. Trends in recruiting and more.
  • CollegeRecruiter.com Newsletter. Solid articles and tips on college recruiting.
  • Recruiting Industry Newswire. Information and news stories on executive search and online recruiting from Hunt Scanlon.
  • Diversity Newswire. Also by Hunt Scanlon, information and news stories related to diversity. Electronic Newsletters on Recruiting, OnlineThese e-newsletters require you to visit a website to view the complete article or newsletter:
  • Recruiters World. Lots of news stories related to recruiting and HR.
  • The EMA Reporter. EMA is a part of SHRM. It focuses on middle-of-the-road approaches to recruiting.
  • NewsForRecruiters. Some good tips, especially for agencies and third-party recruiters. Hard-Copy Recruiting Newsletters (by Snail Mail)These are non-electronic newsletters that you receive through the post office. Both are top-notch and worth the wait:
  • Duran HCP Newsletter. From the “father of recruiting,” this is the most useful newsletter that I have found, bar none. Short but powerful, it contains great tips and lists.
  • Recruiting Trends. I read every issue. It’s easy to scan and it’s full of tips and best practices. It’s not free, but it has a high ROI. HR and Broader Workforce Issue E-Newsletters Anyone in recruiting that’s worth his or her salt knows that recruiting doesn’t exist in a vacuum. As a result, it’s important for recruiters to keep up with hot issues and trends that occur in the broader area of HR. Although many of the above listed recruiting newsletters also cover HR issues, the following e-newsletters focus primarily on broader HR issues:
  • Workforce Week. Put out by the widely read Workforce Magazine people, this newsletter has lots of information, links and Q&A on the hottest issues in HR.
  • Workindex. A publication from the industry trendsetters at HR Executive magazine. Good high-level articles and lots of links.
  • HR Week. The latest legal and broad workforce news from SHRM, the largest HR organization on the planet.
  • Human Capital and Corporate Universities. Forecasts and strategic insights from the well-known industry leader Kevin Wheeler.
  • VP-of-HR Newsletter. I never miss an issue (I’m the editor). Strategic HR articles covering hot HR trends and controversial topics. ConclusionRecruiting is no longer a field where you can remain stagnant. Best practices soon become outdated practices, so it’s important to read and learn if you expect to even keep up. This list gives recruiters a broad selection of free e-newsletters to choose from. It’s becoming a “read or perish” world in recruiting. If you don’t want to be surprised by the speed with which your recruiting knowledge and tools get out of date, set aside some time for some serious reading so that you don’t become as obsolete as a Betamax or eight-track tape player!

About Dr John Sullivan

Dr John Sullivan is an internationally known HR thought-leader from the Silicon Valley who specializes in providing bold and high business impact; strategic Talent Management solutions to large corporations.

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